Natalie Merchant - Carnival

Well, I've walked these streets
A virtual stage
It seemed to me
Makeup on their faces
Actors took their places next to me

Well, I've walked these streets
In a carnival of sights to see
All the cheap thrill-seekers
The vendors and the dealers
They crowded around me

Have I been blind?
Have I been lost inside myself and my whole mind?
Hypnotized, mesmerized, by what my eyes have seen?

Well, I've walked these streets
In a spectacle of wealth and poverty
In the diamond market
The scarlet welcome carpet that they just rolled out for me

And I've walked these streets
In the madhouse asylum they can be
Where a wild-eyed mystic prophet on a traffic island stopped
And he raved of saving me

Have I been blind?
Have I been lost inside myself and my whole mind?
Hypnotized, mesmerized, by what my eyes have seen

Have I been wrong?
Have I been wise to shut my eyes and play along?
Hypnotized, paralyzed by what my eyes have found
By what my eyes have seen
What they have seen?

Have I been blind?
Have I been lost?
Have I been wrong?
Have I been wise?
Have I been strong?
Have I been hypnotized, mesmerized
By what my eyes have found?

In that great street carnival

Have I been blind?
Have I been lost?
Have I been wrong?
Have I been wise?
Have I been strong?
Have I been hypnotized, mesmerized
By what my eyes have found?

In that great street carnival, in that carnival?